The present invention relates to a product intended to be used in connection with the recording of information of the kind stated in the preamble to claim 1. The invention also relates to a system for recording information, a method for making a product for recording of information and an electronic storage medium for computers, on which software for the same purpose is stored.
In restaurants there are often touch screens showing various dishes which a customer may order. The restaurant staff use these touch screens for entering orders which they take from the customer and for transmitting the orders to the kitchen where they are subsequently prepared. However, touch screens are relatively expensive and, consequently, restaurants usually only have a few of these screens. Furthermore, the touch screens are usually stationary, which means that staff members must stand in a particular location when entering the orders. Accordingly, in most cases customers cannot see which order is being entered and, consequently, they cannot check that the order they have placed has been entered correctly. Similar problems exist in, for example, the hotel industry and other industries where touch screens are used to take orders.
A solution to this problem, which is adapted to restaurants, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,016. The patent discloses a device intended to be placed on each table in a restaurant and to be used by customers for entering their order. The device comprises a menu and an optical reading pen. In the traditional way, the menu contains various food and drink alternatives, each alternative being associated with a barcode. The customer passes the optical reading pen across the barcode of the dish she wishes to order and the order is transmitted to the kitchen where staff check whether they can fill the order. If the order can be filled, a confirmation is transmitted to the customer in the form of an indicator light on the pen lighting up in green color. If the order cannot be filled, a red light comes on and the customer is obliged to chose a different dish. When the order has been filled, a bill is automatically printed for the customer. In the device according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,016 touch screens are thus not used and customers enter their orders themselves. However, it has certain other drawbacks. For example, special equipment is required for producing the barcodes. This equipment can be relatively expensive. Moreover, many restaurants do not have the use of this type of equipment, which makes it inconvenient for the restaurant staff to make temporary or permanent changes to the menus. Furthermore, problems arise if standardized barcodes do not exist for the dishes or beverages which are to be included in the menu.
WO 95/04979 discloses a system which makes it possible to produce, on the basis of a common check for a group of guests, a separate check for an individual guest in the group. On the common check, each partial order is identified in a traditional manner with a short description and a price. In addition, the partial order is provided with an ID number which indicates the number of the table in the restaurant and a serial number of the partial order. The ID number is also coded with a bar code. When a separate check is to be made, a bar code reader is used to read the bar codes which correspond to the partial orders for the guest at issue. The bar codes are transferred to a computer which has stored the partial orders and which, on the basis of table number and serial number, can identify the partial order and the price thereof.
Although in this case it is not necessary to be able to code the contents of the specific partial orders directly by means of bar codes but it is sufficient with table number and serial number, the system is just the same limited to precisely a table number and a serial number. If additional and/or other information is to be recorded, additional bar codes must be defined. If the information is to be rearranged and be printed using another layout, the system must also be changed so that the bar codes are printed in other positions.
Similar problems occur when various types of professionals wish to record information, for example, document what has been done, what is to be done, or what is available. One example is a dentist who while treating a patient writes down what he is doing by hand and later inputs the information to his computer. Another example are warehouse staff who take stock by walking around and writing down the items which are in stock. Yet another example are staff at motor vehicle inspection facilities who fill in a form with information about defects which must be corrected in a car which is being inspected. All these and other types of professionals thus are in need of recording information in a simple and flexible manner.
The object of the present invention is to provide an information recording system which is flexible at least to the same extent as or preferably to a greater extent than the above described bar code system.
This object is achieved wholly or partly according to the invention by a product, a system, a method, and an electronic storage medium as described and claimed herein.
According to a first aspect of the invention, it thus relates to a product which is intended for use in connection with the recording of information and which has a surface on which there are a plurality of information alternatives, each having an associated code area. The surface is provided with a two-dimensional position code which codes coordinates for a plurality of positions on the surface in said code areas, which is unrelated to the information which is to be recorded and which permits recording of a desired information alternative by reading the position code for a position in the code area associated with the desired information alternative.
The surface can be any surface to which a position code can be applied, for example by printing. The code is preferably applied to the surface from the outset, before adding the information alternatives. Alternatively, it can be applied simultaneously as the information alternatives or even after they have been applied.
A code area is associated with each information alternative. The code area can be adjacent to the information alternative or overlap it completely or partially. The information alternatives and their code areas should be arranged so that it is obvious to the user which pair of information alternative and code area belong together, enabling the user to record an information alternative by reading the code in the code area associated with the information alternative.
It should here be pointed out that information alternative should be interpreted in a wide sense. It need not be a matter of alternatives which exclude each other, but all forms of information units are included, of which the user may want to record one or more or all the information units.
By two-dimensional position code is further meant that the code codes coordinates in two dimensions for positions on the surface. Examples of advantageous position codes are stated in the specific description portion. Other two-dimensional position codes are also conceivable.
The position code is unrelated to the information that is to be recorded. Thus there is no fixed connection between code and information alternative. By this is meant that the code does not code the actual information, but merely positions on the surface, so that it is via the position on the surface that the connection to various information alternatives can be made. Obviously the same position code can be used for recording arbitrary information. No change of the code on the surface has to be made when changing the information alternatives, but the connection between position and information can be available in, for example, the memory of a computer where the connection is easy to change. In this way, a very flexible product is obtained.
A further advantage of the product according to the invention is that the two-dimensional position code renders it possible to make handwritten notes on the surface and to record these handwritten notes digitally by continuously reading the position code. The handwritten notes are thus represented as a number of positions. The characters or figures which these positions represent can further be interpreted by software, such as ICR software (ICR=Intelligent Character Recognition). If a device that is used to record information by reading the position code is provided with a pen point, it can thus be used to write ordinary handwritten notes on the surface of the product, to record these handwritten notes digitally, and to record information alternatives that are stated on the surface. This possibility is very useful since on many occasions where information is recorded there is a need to state further information, such as a number. The information that is being written also remains in physical form as a confirmation of the digitally recorded information.
This confirmation can also be obtained when recording merely information alternatives if the device has a pen point since in that case the pen point will make a mark in the position in which the user has read the position code.
If the position code covers the entire surface from which the information is to be recorded, in which case the position code thus codes positions with a certain resolution across the entire surface, a user can easily make products with arbitrary information alternatives and arbitrary layout, which products allow recording of the information alternatives by reading the position code. Various types of professionals can thus produce different forms with position code and with different information alternatives which can easily be recorded by reading the position code.
A user can more easily use a product according to the invention compared with a corresponding bar code product since it is sufficient to read the position code for a single position within the code area of an information alternative in order to record the associated information alternative.
The two-dimensional position code can advantageously code a plurality of positions within each code area. All these positions then identify one and the same information alternative and it is thus sufficient that a recording device reads the position code somewhere in the code area to record the associated information alternative.
The position code can advantageously overlap at least one, and preferably each, information alternative. This means that no specific space for the position code is required. It also renders the product more esthetically pleasing.
Furthermore it makes the product easier to use for inexperienced users, first because the user intuitively points to the information he is interested in and second because it is sufficient to point to a single spot on the desired information alternative. However, it may be sufficient to point to a spot adjacent to a desired information alternative, if the code area extends outside the actual information alternative. Thus, any hesitance about which code to be read in order to record an information alternative is eliminated.
As mentioned above, the position code advantageously extends across the entire surface of the product. Consequently, information is recorded from the entire surface and information alternatives are added later in areas in which there was no information from the outset.
In a preferred embodiment, the position code is based on a first string of symbols which contains a first predetermined number of symbols and which has the characteristic that if a second predetermined number of symbols is taken from the first string of symbols, the location of these symbols in the first string of symbols is unambiguously determined.
This first string of symbols can be used to determine the position in a first dimension on the surface. The string of symbols is advantageous since it has a so-called window characteristic. A window and, thus, a position are defined by said second predetermined number of symbols, but it is sufficient to move to the next symbol for a new position to be defined. Thus, it is possible to provide a high resolution and a code where it is only necessary to enter exactly the number of symbols that defines a position.
Furthermore, the position code can advantageously be based on a second string of symbols having the same characteristic as the first string of symbols, the second string of symbols being used to determine the position in a second dimension on the surface.
By the position code being based on strings of symbols with a finite number of symbols arranged in a predetermined order, it is possible to define a xe2x80x9cformulaxe2x80x9d for determining the position. In this way, only a small amount of memory space is required for storing the strings of symbols and the position determination can be carried out quickly and easily.
The position code advantageously has the characteristic that each arbitrary partial surface which has a predetermined magnitude on the surface and contains the position code defines a position.
Such a position code can be implemented, for example, by means of the above-mentioned strings of symbols and is advantageous to use in this connection since it is sufficient to read the position code in an arbitrary position in the code area. The user need not strive to enter a specific area, which is the case when recording bar codes.
The position code is advantageously composed of symbols which represent at least two different values, each symbol comprising a raster point which is included in a raster extending across the surface, and at least one marking, the value of each symbol being indicated by the location of said marking in relation to a raster point.
This design of the position code is advantageous by being easy to detect and decode by image processing since only one type of symbol, i.e. one marking, need be located. This means that each marking can be made small, which in turn means that the position code need not blacken the surface very much and that the position code thus can be discreet and not disturbing to the human eye.
The position code can advantageously constitute a subset of a second position code which defines coordinates for points on a larger imaginary surface. The coordinates thus need not have an origin of coordinates on the product. This gives the advantage that the coordinate area which is coded by the position code on the product can be dedicated to a specific application, for example for inputting information alternatives that are superimposed on the position code, or to a specific type of product. An external unit to which recorded positions are transferred for identification of associated information alternatives can then distinguish positions from different products or applications.
The position code can be implemented in various ways on the surface, e.g. with the aid of a magnetic or chemical material. However, preferably it is implemented in such a way that it is optically readable. It can be optically readable in light which is outside the visible range.
In a preferred embodiment, the product is in the shape of a sheet. The sheet can, for example, be made of paper or some other material to which codes can be applied. In that way, the product will be very inexpensive and can be of the disposable kind. In the example of the restaurant, the menu and the placemat can, for example, be combined into one sheet which is replaced for each new customer.
The information alternatives can be indicated by means of written characters or graphic symbols or in some other way which makes it possible for the user to understand which information alternative is intended.
In one embodiment, the surface is provided with at least one writing area, said position code overlapping the writing area and coding coordinates for a plurality of positions in the writing area. As mentioned above, the writing area can be used to make handwritten notes which are recorded digitally by means of the position code.
The writing area need not be associated with an information alternative but can be a specific coordinate area which is dedicated to handwritten notes.
In one embodiment, however, the writing area is associated with an information alternative and constitutes part of the code area of the information alternative. A user can then tick off, for example, a relevant alternative or write a note, such as a digit, which is associated with the information alternative. If only the information alternative is to be recorded, this can be made later by reading the position code in the relevant code area. If the actual note is also to be recorded, the position code must be read while making the note.
The product can be particularly used in connection with orders and then the information alternatives constitute order alternatives. The term order relates to purchase or reservation of a product, such as a dish, a holiday trip, or reservation of a seat in a theater.
As mentioned above, several positions within a code area can define one and the same information alternative. In other words, these positions jointly define a partial surface or a field on the surface. If the code area overlaps the information alternative, the position code in the code area will thus define the field on the surface in which the information alternative with which the position code is associated is stated.
The invention can also be described as a system for recording of information. The system comprises on the one hand a product as described above; and on the other hand a device for recording one of the information alternatives, the device comprising a sensor for reading the position code in the code area associated with the information alternative and processor with software for interpreting the read position code for identifying the position which corresponds to the read position code.
This system has essentially the same advantages as stated above for the product. The device can, as its output signal, give position coordinates. The position coordinates are preferably transferred to an external unit with software which on the basis of the position coordinates determines the corresponding information alternative. Alternatively, the device itself can contain software for determining which information alternative corresponds to the position coordinates. The system may contain a table or some other memory structure which can store an information alternative for each code area on the surface. The memory structure can be available in the recording device or in the external unit. As described above, the device can be provided with a pen point. In this case, the system is suitably provided with software for interpreting notes that are made with the pen point and recorded by means of the position code.
According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a method of making a product for recording of information, comprising the steps of creating a surface with a two-dimensional position code, which codes coordinates for a plurality of positions on the surface, applying a plurality of information alternatives which are unrelated to the position code on the surface, determining, for each information alternative, a code area in which reading of the position code is to result in recording of this information alternative, and associating this code area with the information alternative in a memory structure.
The advantages of the method are evident from the discussion above regarding the product.
The step of creating a surface with a two-dimensional position code can be carried out by the user obtaining, for example, a sheet of paper with a preprinted position code. Alternatively, the position code can be written on the sheet by means of a printer and a computer before or after applying the information alternatives.
The method can comprise additional steps that are used to make a product which besides has one or more of the additional features described above.
According to a fourth aspect, the invention relates to a storage medium for a computer, on which software is stored for carrying out the steps according to the method above.
The storage medium can be any storage medium for computer programs, such as a RAM, a diskette, disk or some other type of memory with which a computer can cooperate.
The advantages of this software are evident from that stated above.
The present invention can obviously be applied within a number of different areas where graphical user interfaces are used. Examples of such areas are travel bookings, cinema ticket reservations, and hotel reservations.
The invention can also be used for all types for recording of information, particularly in cases where the information is normally first recorded on paper and then input to a computer and in cases where touch screens are used. In this case, preprinted forms with position code and information alternatives can be generated and the information alternatives then be easily recorded by reading the position code. Handwritten notes can also be made.